


Morality and the Dark Prince

by SkipBack



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Angst, Blood, Swords, divided into short chapters!, glass, he gets killed a lot is what i'm sayin', invader zim royalty au i guess, the shadow fucker being an asshole, while morality does his best impression of lovebug and repeatedly dies over and over again
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:53:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27394534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkipBack/pseuds/SkipBack
Summary: Zib's morality tries to fight off an intruder known as "the Dark Prince". This essentially is their interactions throughout the Royalty AU.
Comments: 11
Kudos: 7





	1. It Begins

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MelodyoftheVoid](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelodyoftheVoid/gifts).



> Not at all in anyway meant to be canon to the Royalty AU. I was bored, and the two characters in here (as well as their designs) did kind of come to me while I was watching Mystery Skulls Animated "The Future" over again for the tenth time so... I'm Zeisty, of course I'm going to do something with these two idiots.
> 
> For Mels - I hope you like Morality and the Dark Asshole, because I sure as hell do. This is also going to be divided into short chapters because I can, so... yeah. I apologize. I really just wanted to get these idiots' interactions out in into the world.
> 
> And to everyone else reading - I suggest you check out the Royalty AU if you haven't already... these chapters do contain spoilers. Might feel stale, since you know what's going to happen, but hey... why not read it from a new perspective? (Yes, of course we're gonna end up seeing some quotes from Fading Reflections in here. I've decided to put those in Italics.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place in "When I am Dead, I'll Join Their Ranks" (as well as "Every Day Another Loss").

Morality has been there most of Zib's life; he's the voice in his head telling him something he's about to do is wrong, that he should fix things, that he should stop. He's always kept Zib on the right side of the path. And he always will try to. 

The Dark Prince is Zib's resentment and anger towards Dib; the pain he's caused him, his loneliness, his sorrow. Yet he'd always been in the sidelines, just out of Morality's sight where he couldn't find him, in the shadow. Over time, he steadily began to grow bolder, more sure of himself. 

Whenever Zib was angry, the Dark Prince fueled that anger, that hate, that pain. He fed Zib lies, he kept that fire burning. He was the disposable twin, the footnote. Just a name in a book, someone to mistaken for his brother. Dib was lying, he didn't care. By the time Morality noticed what was going on, it was too late to douse the flames of Zib's hatred. 

And then Zib found out he could use magic on another living creature. 

Morality was frankly startled that Zib would even do that, but ultimately became horrified when the prince began to consider using magic on his own brother. Of course, before he could say anything to get Zib to stop plotting his "revenge", Morality was met with a long, black-stained glass sword through the back. 

"You snooze," the Dark Prince said to Morality for the first time, "you lose." He pulled the sword out of Morality's back, allowing him to collapse to the ground. 

Morality knows Zib. Once this... this intruder planted the first seed, there would be no turning back. Zib was stubborn like that. Whatever this lookalike was planning couldn't be good. 

Yet he couldn't. White-silver blood was pooling out around him, drenching his white and yellow clothes. He was so, so tired, exhausted for the first time in his life. Weakly, all Morality could say was "Don't do it" before closing his eyes. 

Of course it was in vain. The Dark Prince got away with it anyway. 

Morality, after a couple hours or so, found out he had, in fact, died then. Which was scary to know that the Dark Prince was capable of such a thing, but it was good to know that he couldn't permanently stay dead. Zib needed him, after all. 

The Dark Prince appeared again on the night of Zib and Dib's twenty-first birthday, yet didn't kill Morality... not right away, anyway. He casually walked up beside Morality, who tensed in response to seeing him again. After a minute of silence, the Dark Prince standing still with a smug and knowing smile, Morality keeping his eyes on the darkened glass blade of his sword, their first conversation ensued. 

"How's your back?" 

"Excuse me?" 

The other held his glass sword up into Morality's line of sight, a grin full of sharpened teeth splitting his green face in half. "Your back, Whitey. Most people don't come back from a sword to the spine." 

Morality snorted. "I died. Not many people come back from the dead after a, how you say, sword to the spine. So clearly, I'm not, how you say, most people." 

The Dark Prince barked a laugh. "You're a funny guy, Whitey. Almost makes me regret killing you. Almost." The dark-clad man began circling Morality like a vulture, purple-on-black eyes locked on him, his smile never faltering. 

"Is that supposed to make me pity you?" Morality asked, trying to school his expression so the villain wouldn't see how nervous he was. "Would you like me to locate the smallest violin possible and start playing woefully it for you?" 

"That's not necessary, Whitey," the Dark Prince said, suddenly close enough that their noses were touching; Morality tried not to gulp. "I've just come to, how you say, _talk._ " His smile grew impossibly wider. 

Morality drew himself up, trying to make himself seem taller than the other man. "About what, exactly?" 

"My plan, Whitey. I want to talk to you about my plan." 

Morality's heart skipped a beat, sinking into his stomach. "Y-your... plan?" 

A clawed finger trailed across his neck to his chin, making him involuntarily shiver. "Yes, my friend. I have a plan I need to discuss with you, since as it is already in motion. I suppose it would be... _good_ to let you know what my plan is." He spat the word "good" out as though it left a horrible, bitter taste in his mouth. 

"You see, my dear Whitey, Zib's brother Dib is now old enough to take the throne." 

"He won't take the throne over for some time, you know. It isn't like he will take it over right away." 

"But he will," the Dark Prince snarled. "Father does want that horrible brat to take over the throne opposed to Zib." 

"It's not Zib's fault he was born seco—" 

Morality's mouth snapped shut as his throat was suddenly met with a familiar glass blade. "Dib has always been in our way," the other went on. "Zib is just his mirror image." His grin was suddenly back, wider than before. "So I thought, why not stick Dib in an actual mirror? He'll be out of sight, out of mind sure enough... and shipwrecks do happen more often than not...." 

"WHAT? NO! We can't — _you_ can't... no! That's wrong!" Morality couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Are you suggesting we fake Dib's death?! No! What about Gaz or Father or even Zim? Or anyone else?" 

The Dark Prince's grin fell again. "You are a part of Zib, and even you have turned against him. Even you care about Dib more than you care about Zib, and you're actually _fucking_ a part of him." 

"That's not what I—" 

The darkened glass sword found a home in his stomach, slicing all the way through all the organs, bones and muscle located there, as painful as he remembered. 

"I don't care what you think, you fucking traitor," the other said. "This is happening, whether you fucking like it, or not. Dib will be finally be out of out fucking way, and Zib will have the treatment he deserves. You can fight back if that pleases you... but just know Dib will never fucking win." 

And once again, Morality found his vision fading away. 

"You'll see," he heard the Dark Prince say as he slowly faded into nothing, "we will win."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THAT
> 
> You wanna know how "Morality and the Dark Prince" happened? I was writing explanations of their characters. It then spiraled into a story. And what's really fun about this is getting to reread parts of Fading Reflections to write along side of it to answer my own question: how would Morality, someone who has no control over the events playing out before his eyes, react to all of this?
> 
> Please note that I didn't write anything for One Last Chance. Boy was having a congested sinus really fucking fun. Felt like someone took a cleaver to my head and chopped it in half. My head's better now. Didn't last as long as I was expecting.
> 
> THE JOYS OF THE COMMON COLD are not so joyful-


	2. Further Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place in "Every Day Another Loss".

Things had been fine before the Dark Prince's official appearance. Now, Morality was lucky if he could go an entire day without feeling that dreaded glass sword piercing his back, ending his life for the thousandth time. 

Zib had gotten what he wanted, of course. The Dark Prince's plan of putting Zib's brother in the mirror had succeeded, so now the younger of the two princes was next in line for the throne of Tierras. In any other life, Morality probably would have been happy for Zib. But this was just sick, messed up, _twisted._

So unmorally wrong. 

How could he be happy for Zib if this was the route he was taking? 

Morality hated this with ever fibre of his being, but blamed himself for not noticing the signs the Dark Prince was even there. Could Zib's pranks have been signs? Morality had tried to convince the boy not to play pranks he was sure would go wrong right away, and yet, the young prince had went on with said pranks time and time again anyway. At least he'd grown out of them. 

There clearly had been other signs. Perhaps he could have tried to prevent his appearance in the first place. Fix things before they could even break. Yet no, Morality had remained blind to Zib's hatred over his own brother, and now look where Dib was. _He could have prevented this._ He could have saved Dib, and maybe, just maybe, prevented the Dark Prince from appearing at all. 

It was that bird's fault. 

Of course he would say that. Not about the bird, though it was definitely to blame for this whole thing as well. Of course he would say he could have done something if he had noticed sooner, and scream at his past self for being so blind, but... there was no changing the the past, so what was left to worry about was the future. 

Morality was worried about the future. What it would hold. If he couldn't stop Zib and the Dark Prince before it was too late, what would that mean for Zib? He could sense that there wouldn't be any happiness for the man. Of course Morality wanted Zib to be happy, definitely. But this clearly wasn't the best way to do it, though the Dark Prince didn't seem to agree with him. That jerk seemed to whole-heartedly think this was the best thing for Zib. 

All Morality could do at this time was be compliant with his plan. 

Oh how he longed to do something. He wanted wipe that smug grin off that slimy green prick's face, the one he frequently wore as he wandered around Zib's Mindscape. He wanted to rip that black glass sword out of his hands and stab him through the back, see how he liked _that._ But Morality was frankly tired of the constant violence. You could only be killed so many times before it got annoying, not that any mortal man would understand what that feeling felt like. If it meant calmly adjusting the armor that sat across the room from Dib's mirror to prevent another hideous death, so be it. 

It was an interesting idea, the armor. It didn't seem to serve a purpose just yet, but he was sure it would one day. 

_"I'm worried about you...."_

A whisper. Morality could hear it, and he knew Zib had too; the prince stopped fiddling with the armor to turn to the mirror. Through the man's eyes, he could see what exactly had happened to Dib during his time in the reflective surface; transparent, tips of his fingers barely visible. Though the life behind his eyes had diminshed and dimmed, there was geniune concern in them, _the sort of concern the Dark Prince wouldn't see as real,_ and, unless Morality did something, really _did_ something, Zib would quickly brush it off. 

Of course, he could barely say anything when Dib started acting like a mere reflection. He was horrified; was this the Dark Prince's real plan? The slimy villain had said the curse was supposed physically bind him to the mirror, nothing more, nothing less. Had he been lying? 

Dib was back to normal in a moment's notice, apparently unaware of what just happened. After a second, another voice spoke, though it was not Dib's this time. 

_"You should worry more about yourself."_

That... yeah, that was Zib. Had he noticed? What was he saying of course Zib noticed; Morality was literally looking through his eyes, after all. Perhaps there was still a little concern for his brother in there? Hidden somewhere Morality still had yet to find? 

Wishful thinking. 

Morality eventually caught Zib thinking about the curse. He told the man that this was worse than one of his goofy little pranks when he was a kid. This would be murder, to let Dib fade away. Treason! He couldn't do that. Morality couldn't let that happen. Dib still cared, after everything, he actually cared! He had to make Zib see that, _he had to get Zib to let Dib ou—_

Morality barely stifled a curse as a very, very familiar darkened glass sword, once again, plunged itself through his back, poking out through his chest. The Dark Prince left the sword in his chest this time, calmly tossing Morality aside like a simple ragdoll, who true to form collasped to the ground like one. 

"It doesn't matter whether or not Dib cares," the Dark Prince said, presumably to Zib, as well as Morality. "That brat is the problem. No matter what he says or does, he's just an obstacle. We know have the chance to remove that obstacle. That fucker will ruin everything, perhaps even reveal the truth of what we have done. We can't risk that." 

"N-no...." Morality gargled, struggling to keep his head up. Gods above, he was dying again, wasn't he? He coughed up white-silver blood. 

Yep. Dying again. Great. 

"You are on the verge of getting everything you've ever wanted. The throne is now in your grasp; the spotlight is off your so-called rotten brother. You — _we_ — have power no one else possesses in our country, hell, perhaps even the world. Now, why would we cast everything we've worked so hard for because of _Dib?_ " 

Morality tried dragging himself over to the villain, heavily breathing. Must... keep... fighting to... stop... that ugly cockroach from... f-from... _so tired...._

"Not again. If it means tossing aside a few moral boundaries—" the Dark Prince turned to pointedly look at Morality "—to do so? We'll do it." 

Morality glared up into those horrid purple-on-black eyes. Ohhhhhhh how he hated that slimy jerk. 

"We have come too far already. Today will make our victory official." 

He held his tongue, refraining from making a sound as the bastard took his stupid glass sword back from his chest, a gaping hole left behind. 

"You know what to do." 

Morality rested his head upon the floor, closing his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> always did have a feeling that suit of armor Zib was mentioned to have been messing with would have a part to play. And guess what it was for later on?
> 
> I probably shouldn't use Morality's deaths as a way to end these chapters, but hey, I _did_ say he gets killed a lot in the tags. And he does also happen to mention past deaths, so expect him to bring up all the other times he got killed (and perhaps what he did to get killed).


	3. Blue Eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place in "Shattered Trust". 
> 
> s t r a n g u l a t i o n

Somehow Morality hadn't thought he could hate the Dark Prince more than he already did, but here he was. 

Oh sure, he had always known that the plan was to fake Dib's death. To pretend he had sailed away and ended up being killed in a shipwreck or... something. He hadn't been... around to see how exactly Zib had staged it. Yet he had when Zib had told Zim, in person, _to his face,_ that Dib was never coming back. To move on. That... that hadn't been okay with Morality. At all. 

His response to that had gotten him killed again. 

Now, Morality had always thought that Zim and Dib falling in love was sweet. Almost destiny. Romance was a bit of a secret soft spot of his, one that he knew for certain that Zib didn't have. 

He wondered if Zim calling the prince "Dib-twin" in the past brought him any feelings of resentment. Oh no of course it did, knowing Zib now, to be referred to as "Dib-twin" would have struck that sore spot of his. And the Dark Prince definitely would have used that as a sticking point. 

Zim had somehow figured out about Dib and what happened to him; they had caught the Irken prince sneaking in and out of Zib's hidden study, clearly attempting to free his beloved. Due to that, the older Membrane twin was now permanently stuck in his mirror, no longer allowed to follow Zib around the palace in various reflective surfaces. That was okay to Morality. He had hated the idea of parading the poor prince around as a captive audience; it lifted some weight off Morality's shoulders. 

But this? 

This wasn't okay. 

Zim hadn't been spared. He'd been stuck on an invisible leash, and, if he walked more than ten paces away from Zib, his body would... well, he would essentially wither away. Trying to get the Dark Prince to refrain from laying a curse upon Zim had lead to another death. 

Fun. 

Zim had decided to... have a bit of fun and brought up Dib to the nobles. The sound the Dark Prince had made when he realized what was going on was more than a little funny; Morality, who had been trying his best to keep quiet, had to bite his tongue in order to keep from laughing. 

Unfortunately, Zim's little scene had given the Dark Prince an idea. One that Morality hated more than anything he'd ever hated before because it was wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong! So unmorally wrong! 

_"Now Zim, I hope you know that what you did today was quite embarrassing for me."_

_"Well maybe if you hadn't, oh I don't know, put a lethal curse on both Dib and I, maybe I wouldn't hate your guts as much as I do._

"That was a pretty wrong thing to do," Morality whispered, earning a glare from the villain beside him. "Could have saved us the hate." 

The Dark Prince heaved an annoyed sigh. "Yeah... I suppose you're right." 

_"I suppose you're right, this is not really an ideal situation for me either."_

_"Really. Allow me to find the smallest of violins to express my pity for the problems you caused yourself."_

"Oh, you have got to be FUCKING kidding me!" 

Morality couldn't very well help the flurry of tiny giggles that escaped passed his lips. It appeared he and Zim were more similar than he thought. 

He stopped giggling as quickly as he had started, his heart in his throat; Zib struck out at his brother's prison, a gloved hand slamming against the reflective surface. Had he cracked it? He hadn't cracked it, had he? Had he? 

The mirror was out of sight quicker than he could really think; Zib, from what he could gather, had turned to face Zim. Perhaps he had even placed himself between the Irken prince and the mirror. 

_"Zim. We each have... our frustrations with one another. But the wedding is only a few weeks away, and I would rather not have to drag you kicking and screaming to the altar."_

_"Then let Dib out."_

"Please, please, please, please...." Morality whispered rapidly under his breath. "Fix it, fix it, fix it, fix it. Fix it, fix it—" 

A warning growl from the villain beside him made him snap his mouth closed. 

_"We both know that's not happening, I've come too far to turn back now. But I do have a solution to our problems."_

Morality's heart dropped. He shouldn't have been surprised; Zib had always been stubborn like this. It was a defining feature in the Membranes. But he hadn't thought... it was so unmorally wrong, why would Zib do that? Y-you couldn't... _he_ couldn't.... 

_"Zib, please, whatever you're about to do, reconsider! I'm begging you, please...."_

"Listen to him, please." He refused to think Zib would go through with it. Morality was Zib's good side. If he was still here, that must mean Zib wasn't as evil as he was making himself to be. "I know you'll hate hearing this, but Dib's ri—" 

He only realized he was pushing it when an iron strong hand wrapped around his neck with a sickeningly loud crunch and lifted him off his feet, cutting his words as well as the air to his lungs off. So much for staying quiet. He was going to be strangled to death this time, he knew it so. He also knew it would be useless to try to fight; it would only get him killed faster. But yet he couldn't just roll over and let the Dark Prince expect to kill him without him trying to fight back. 

He'd fought back time and time again before, so why break routine? 

He wrapped his hands around the other's wrist, kicking and squirming, glaring into his purple-on-black eyes. 

_"You hate me, and I hate when you act out of turn."_

Air fading fast now, the slimy villain's grip grew tighter. It would be so easy to succumb... no, no he couldn't. He had to keep fighting! _"So, if you won't learn to behave, then I suppose I'll have to make you. After all, if I am to be Dib's replacement, I think I am entitled to all that that entails. Including you."_

"No...." Morality managed to choke out. His body was becoming slack now; his limbs went limp, dangling by his sides, a darkness creeping into the corners of his vision, threatening to completely engulf his sight. Never give up, never give in. Never give up, never give in. He couldn't, he couldn't, he couldn't. 

Distantly he could hear Zim ask what Zib was doing, his voice slurred. He was barely able to see the grin spreading across the Dark Prince's horrible green face; he was more focused on the fact the spell was taking hold now, that this was against a moral boundary Morality had never thought Zib would even be able to cross (but with the applications of dark magic, you can do anything! Apparently). 

As the everything began to fade away once more, darkness in his vision completely taking hold, Morality managed to hear two last sentences from the outside world before he inevitably passed again. 

_"Zim my dear, who do you belong to?"_

_"To you, my King."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh
> 
> Dib may have lost hope in getting through to Zib at this point in the Royalty AU, but denial runs through Morality's silvery blood. He's a good boy. He believes that as long as he lives, Zib will always have an ounce of good in him. Even if right now no one else can see that ounce of good.
> 
> A reminder - I didn't write anything for One Last Chance because somewhere along the road, the common cold cracked down on my ass and, since your sinuses are in your head, coming up with ideas for that chapter would'a worsened my headache. I ended up electing to head straight onto This Day A Wry. More simple that way.
> 
> (the headache's gone now, just to note. but i still ain't writin' something for one last chance. just note: morality is not impressed.)


	4. This Day A Wry, Part 1/3 - Ruinous Wedding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place in "This Day Aria".
> 
> (you thought i was kidding about the title, but it turns out i'm serious. welcome to this day a wry. or at least, part of it.)

Even while the treaty between Irk and Tierras was merely meant to bring peace between the two kingdoms, Morality had always liked how Zim and Dib had fallen in love anyhow. Call him silly, but they almost seemed to be destined to be together. It was poetic and sweet, something almost out of a fairytale. 

It was unfortunate this fiasco had to occur, because he was certain that, whatever happened today, Morality wouldn't get to see those two, how you say, tie the knot. 

He'd always thought it would have been something beautiful, Dib and Zim's wedding. Now, if things were to play out the wrong way, Zim would end up married to someone that wasn't... y'know. His true love. 

That poor Irken. 

Poor everyone, actually. 

Red and Purple's spells, Gir leashed and shackled to his smaller form, Dib still trapped in his mirror, and now with the same suit of armor Morality could remember Zib fiddling with once seemingly lifetimes ago sitting dutifully beside it, enchanted to break the other Membrane prince's prison when Zib gave the command to. And the pain the Dark Prince was putting Zib through.... 

Speaking of the shadow bastard, he was insistent on keeping an eye on Morality because he didn't want him "to ruin everything for Zib". As usual. A scowl was planted on Morality's face, an uncharacteristic expression for him to wear. He had to be right beside the slimy villain the entire day, silent for the most part. Or at least until the wedding was done and over with. 

Not that he had really wanted it to happen to begin with. 

Things had already gone too far at this point. 

One of two things could occur, one of which more unlikely than the other. 

Zib could "win", as the Dark Prince put it. He could have everything he could ever ask for, but there was no happiness. You could have everything, but you wouldn't have happiness. 

Or, the other unlikely possiblity, Zib could "lose"; fix things, finally let Dib go free, pay whatever price there was for being... a villain, basically (hopefully not having his head lopped off). 

Another thing Morality had always liked was redemption arcs. While it most likely wouldn't happen, he hoped that things would play out the right way, and Zib could be redeemed. A happy ending. 

Or Zib could sit the background fuming for the rest of his life, at least until he decided: "This is enough being good, let's stick Dib in the ground instead of in a mirror this time." (NO GODS. NO GODS _PLEASE_ NO. _NO._ NO. _NOOOO!_ ) 

Morality clenched his fists. He could probably do something right now. Fight back. That ugly green cockroach was staring right ahead of him, a satisfied smile on his face as he watched the events unfolding before his — well, Zib's — eyes. Closer and closer to finally having everything. All Zim had to really do to seal the deal was say "I do." 

Something in him seemed to think Zim would say the words, so of course he was startled when the Irken prince abruptly punched Zib in the face, which was sure enough followed by two sweet words Morality normally wouldn't have been so glad to hear. 

_"I don't."_

The Dark Prince growled, a frown replacing his smug smile. "That motherfu—" 

Morality decided to, how you say... "pull a Zim" and throw a punch for himself. His fist cracked against the Dark Prince's green face. Shook his now aching hand out as the other "man" toppled back onto the floor. 

"OH! How original!" the shadow bastard said once the shock wore off, sitting up. Darkened blood oozed down from his nose. "Who could have ever spurred you to do that, _Whitey._ " 

(Zim. The answer was definitely Zim.) 

A thin, golden sword appeared in his hand, though the blade was not made of glass. "It's Morality, you slimy cockroach." 

The villain got to his feet, holding his darkened glass sword in front of him, making no attempt to wipe the blood from his nose. "Creative," he sneered. "Yet I would have left 'roach' out." 

Morality wrinkled his nose. "Ew." 

"It doesn't help your blood looks like cu—" 

The Dark Prince hopped back as Morality raced forward, slashing wildly. "You act like you've never fought with a sword before." 

"I haven't! This is my first time!" 

The shadow roach flashed him a sickening grin. "That's what she said." 

"Oh my gods you're disgusting." 

Morality should have realized the Dark Prince was trying to distract him; while he wasn't surprised that the other "man" would use such... revolting language, considering the amount of times he openly cursed in front of Morality, he was more concerned with just where Zib would have picked this sort of language up from. 

So much so that he barely had time to hold his sword up, a hand against the golden blade to keep it over his head. 

Good to finally have a way to protect himself, but ancestors forgive him if observing Gaz wasn't at all helping him. 

Speaking of Gaz, he _should_ have realized what move this was. 

Morality let out a surprised "oh!" as the force pressing down above him ceased, causing him to stumble; pain shot up his leg as the darkened glass of his foe's sword slashed across it. It wasn't an overly serious wound, but the pain did cause him to stumble back, his head colliding with the ground, his sword slipping out of his grasp, clattering against the floor. 

The Dark Prince snorted, pointing the tip of his glass sword at Morality. "You fall too easy, Whitey," he said. "Yet it never doesn't get not funny to watch you crumple in on yourself." His amused tone changed, a scowl on his face. "Though you should know by now that fighting is pointless. It has always been pointless. I told you we would win, did I not?" 

"B-but... you did, but—" 

"But what Whitey, but what? You know how close we are. Sure Zim has provided a sort of... obstacle, but whatever happens, we will overcome this. We will wi—" 

"Oh leave me out of this would you!" Morality snapped. "I never asked for this! No one asked for this! There's no we in this. I never agreed to this plan. Besides, what's the point of this? Do you understand what will happen when Zib does win?" 

"He—" 

"He'll be alone. You saw that vision. Of Zib alone on the throne. If we — if _you_ continue this, it will be come real! And we did see Zib's child self before the wedding...." 

That had been utterly terrifying. During Zim and Zib's... discussion before the wedding, the child Zib was (or at least, the vision of him) had been seen. Standing there. Staring. Morality swore he could still feel the boy's stare, even now. 

"You can't be serious. You can't possibly believe that. That is not true. The strain of dark magic may be bad sure, but there is no way a... a _seizure-induced hallucination_ can predict the future! It's not a vision, Whitey! It's not!" 

"But will winning be worth it?" 

"DO NOT—" The Dark Prince snapped his mouth shut, biting down on his anger. Gods above was this light-clad bitch annoying at the worst times possible. He had to keep a level head, had to refrain from exploding into a blind rage. Not when they were so close to victory. 

"Do not ask that question, Morality." 

Morality involuntarily shuddered, daggers of ice trailing down his spine, his heart flipping in his chest. He'd never heard the Dark Prince use his name before, which probably meant that the time for games was over. 

Not that this had ever been a game to begin with. 

_"For the good of this kingdom, Zib Membrane, I am asking that you surrender quietly."_

Wait hang on a second... Gaz was here? When had she shown up? How much time had passed? What was going on? 

_"Gaz — Gaz what are you doing?"_

"Something I should've done a long time ago. Now, you can either keep digging this hole for yourself or you can make things right. Don't make this any more difficult than it has to be." 

"Oh," the Dark Prince said. "Huh. What do you know. She knows." He paused, darkened eyes blinking owlishly. "You know, all things considered, I should be angrier than this, but I'm not." 

_"Please Zib, just... end this now. Please."_

The slimy villain pointed before him, at the small hand mirror Gaz was facing in Zib's direction, where a barely visible Dib was in the reflective surface. "Okay, scratch my previous statement." 

King Membrane didn't really seem to understand the situation, and how could he? He hadn't really been entirely there to understand what was going on. And if he hadn't been there since the very start of the ordeal, Morality probably would have been just as confused. The Dark Prince, interestingly enough, deflated as though he was a small child being scowled, his eyes cast upon the ground. 

It only lasted a few seconds; the villain's eyes widened as though remembering something, a small smile on his face. He looked back up, a manic grin spreading across his features, his previously deflated posture fading away all at once. 

_"Well, what do you have to say for yourself?"_

The Prince's brows furrowed, though his smile never faded; the expression was something quite evil to look at, which was quite fitting, considering the person wearing it. "I have a backup plan, dear sister." 

Morality wasn't surprised to hear that, but his silvery blood still turned cold nevertheless at the sound of Zib's frankly quite insane laughter. 

_"E-end this now huh? That's funny. That's_ really fucking funny. _Honestly Dib? That's what I've been wanting to do all_ fucking _day."_

"Oh, please don't," Morality said, more annoyed than anything else. "I'm sick of this nonsense." 

_"I am so_ tired _of having to deal with you constantly getting in the way of what I want, time after time. And_ **you —** _"_ this was clearly directed at Zim, how could it not be? _"— really could not fucking cooperate for one day could you? No matter. No I am not going to let this be how it ends. I will not fucking lose. I **refuse.** "_

At the same time as Zib lunged toward his sister, an arcane blade appearing in his hand, Morality sprang to his feet, almost copying his host. But unlike Zib, Morality wasn't aiming to steal Dib's mirror back from Gaz. 

He was aiming to finally end the Dark Prince's life for a turn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Dark Prince, is your name actually Remus? No? Okay. Just thought I'd ask. 
> 
> Speaking of the Dark Prince, I intentionally chose to have him call Morality "Whitey" because it's funny to him. He's known Morality's name for a while, actually. Even though he knows it, he still chose to call him "Whitey". To actually call him "Morality"? Yeah....
> 
> also GET HIS ASS, MORALITY-


	5. This Day A Wry, Part 2 - Brave Sisters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takes place in "This Day Aria"

The Prince yelped, his glass sword clashing with Morality's golden blade. The light-clad man wore an expression he wasn't overly used to seeing on his face; brows furrowed with determination, golden eyes burning with anger, mouth turned down in a snarl. 

While the Prince wasn't necessarily surprised Morality was fighting back, this sudden change in his pacifist nature was shocking. It didn't change that Morality didn't know how to fight with a sword, yet that somehow made him more dangerous. After all, someone with no experience in swordfighting could do a lot more damage than someone with, considering that they had no idea what they were doing. 

Morality swung wildly, unpredictably. Before it had been easier; the other had been uncertain of what to do with a weapon now that he had one. That didn't seem to matter now, nor did the wound in his leg, gently oozing that familiar white-silver blood of his. What seemed to matter to him was fighting back as hard as he could. It'd always seemed to matter to him. 

That, and the Prince was trying to pay attention for his cue, considering the fact he and Morality had missed quite a bit going on in the outside world due to their bickering and squabbling. He couldn't exactly miss out on any sort of cue; he had a fun little line he wanted to announce. 

At one point or another, Gaz tossed her brother's mirror to his "beloved;" it was at that point Morality swung into the air in an arc, the golden blade slicing into the Prince's shoulder. He hissed as Morality allowed the weapon to dig in more than was necessary before pulling it out. 

"AHA!" Morality said, his blazing eyes lighting up with glee and triumph. "How do you like apples!" 

"That's not how the quote goes, Whitey." 

"Close enough!" 

The two continued to clash, Morality managing to sneak in a few more hits; another wound in the Prince's other shoulder, a slight cut in his leg, mirroring the one he'd given Morality. It was moments like these where he wished he'd appeared wearing armor. 

Of course, this couldn't exactly last forever, and neither could Zib's battle outside with his sister. 

_"Just give up already! You know you can't beat me, you're outnumbered, why are you still doing this?"_

"Defeating you in swordplay wasn't the point, dear sister," the Prince whispered along to Zib, as though quoting a play he'd seen by far too many times to count. "The point was to distract you long enough for the other spell to work." 

The Prince gave what was supposedly called a chef's kiss. "Beautiful." 

Unfortunately, someone he knew didn't share his opinion. 

" _RrrrRRRRRAAAAAAGGHH!_ " 

Morality tackled him, knocking them both over onto the ground. The light-clad man sat up on top of the Prince's chest, pining his arms down. Depsite the current situation, he couldn't very well resist. 

"Mmm... kinky." 

"Stop." 

The Prince smirked. "Make me." 

"You don't want me to." 

"Are you sure about that?" 

Morality pulled back a fist, his hand cracking against the Prince's face once more. 

"Very," he snarled. 

_"I had hoped to avoid this, but you have forced my hand. Did you really think I wouldn't have a backup plan?"_

___"You certainly didn't see that punch coming, did you?"_ _ _

__"We can't keep fighting like this," Morality started._ _

__The Prince snorted, rolling his eyes. "You don't say. I had hoped I was dropping enough hints for you to back off, to give up and to give in. To just let this happen. But nooooo! You had to be a little fucking prick and fight back! The _nerve!_ It's like you can't see what I'm doing is good for us!" _ _

__Morality's face turned a bright shade of red, a vein popping out in his forehead, one of his eyelids twitching. "HINTS?!" he roared. "What hints?! YOU KILLED ME! AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN! THOSE AREN'T _FUCKING_ HINTS, YOU STUPID COCKROACH _BITCH!_ " _ _

__The Prince gasped dramatically; if his hands were free, he would have placed one to his chest. " _Language._ " _ _

__The light-clad man's eyes narrowed. "You're one to talk."_ _

___"_ Fucker. _Why you don't stop fighting, I don't think I'll understand. So now, I'm going to tell you to stop fighting back,_ Zim. _"_ _ _

__Morality's burst of rage seemed to flood out of his systems as soon as he heard that. He visibly paled as he turned his head, his face dropping as soon as he saw what was still going on in the outside world, almost _terrified._ "No. No no no NO—" _ _

__As Morality was distracted, watching their host snatch Dib's mirror from Zim, the Prince was going to seize his chance before the other realized what was going on; Morality squawked as he was pushed off, and before he would know it, the Prince was on top of him, holding his sword so that the glass blade was merely inches away from his nose._ _

__"Finally. Took us some time, but we can finally put this behind us."_ _

___"Now, let's end this, once and for all."_ _ _

__"Time to break the mirror."_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH COME ON WE ALREADY KNOW WHAT HAPPENS, DON'T PULL THE SUSPENSE SHIT ON US! anyway, lemme point some lines out.
> 
> "How's your back?"  
> "Excuse me?"
> 
> "That was a pretty wrong thing to do. Could have saved us the hate."  
> "Yeah... I suppose you're right."
> 
> "You act like you've never fought with a sword before."  
> "I haven't! This is my first time!"  
> "That's what she said."  
> "Oh my gods you're disgusting." 
> 
> "How do you like apples!"  
> "That's not how the quote goes, Whitey."  
> "Close enough!"
> 
> "Mmm... kinky."  
> "Stop."  
> "Make me."  
> "You don't want me to."  
> "Are you sure about that?"
> 
> 🤔


	6. This Day A Wry, Part 3/3 - Fate's Coin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takes place in "This Day Aria"
> 
> My brain was partially burnt, and wouldn't you know it, I wasn't able to read This Day Aria again to write this chapter. I can't quite remember what happens and my memory can't be trusted exactly, but I DID MY BEST MELS I'M SORRY

The look on the Dark Prince's face when he saw what he'd turned Zib into would forever stay with Morality. 

As soon as the villain took notice of their host's reflection in Dib's mirror, the smile on his face completely fell, his eyes wide with disbelief and horror. He seemed to completely forget about Morality as he stood up, walking over to the window. He was uncharacteristically quiet, lifting a clawed hand to touch the glass. 

He fell to his knees, shaking like a leaf. Morality slowly got to his feet, carefully picking his sword up, limping over to the Dark Prince. He couldn't see the Dark Prince's face, couldn't imagine what could be going on in his head. This was... a new development. He wasn't sure what he was expecting to happen now. 

Morality was more focused on Dark Prince than anything, clutching the hilt of his sword. He had the chance to kill Dark Prince if he really wanted to; he wasn't paying attention to Morality at all. If he really wanted, he could take his sword and stab him through the back. 

But he refused to. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't bring himself to do it. 

He couldn't be a killer. 

The Dark Prince suddenly pounded a fist against the glass in front of him with a snarl, then stood up, and lifted his sword over his head, wincing (probably due the wounds in his shoulders), before bringing it down against the floor with all his might. The darkened blade, being cracked and made of glass in all, smashed into a thousand tiny pieces. 

"FUCK!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, causing Morality to jump. "STOP! JUST STOP! STOPSTOPSTOPSTOP! WE CAN'T! I-I...." His voice unexpectedly cracked. "No... n-no, this isn't... I never meant...." 

What happened at that was almost a blur; before he knew it, the Dark Prince had curled up on his side on the floor, using his cloak to hide his face (for all Morality knew, Zib himself had faced one of his "seizures" and was possibly unconscious, not that Morality was actually paying attention to what was happening to their host, too stunned and confused as to what the Dark Prince could have done). 

"I'm so fucking tired." The dark-clad man's voice came out as a croak, dripping with exhaustion and almost sounding dead. "I hope you're fucking happy." 

"What...." Morality shook his head, brows furrowed. "What just happened?" 

The Dark Prince let out a groan. "By the gods," he said. "How could one be so slow?" He moved his cloak away from his face, glaring up at Morality; his pupils and irises weren't there, just cracks like cobwebs littered across his glasses. "It's over, Morality. You won." 

Morality blinked. "I... I won?" he asked. He felt his eyebrows shoot up, realizing what the Dark Prince meant. "You let Dib go? He's... you let him go? Really?" 

The supposed villain rolled onto his back, his arms flopped out on either side. "What do you think, dickbreath?" 

Morality dropped to his knees, hands clasped over his mouth. He hadn't felt like this in what felt like centuries. It couldn't possibly be real, and he couldn't truly believe the Dark Prince on this one. He didn't want to feel hope, only to have it stripped away and replaced with despair, but yet.... 

He felt like his emotions were riding on the clouds. He couldn't think straight. Before he knew what he was doing, Morality had pulled the Dark Prince into an unexpected hug, arms wrapped tightly around the other, unable to stop giggling and laughing like an idiot. 

The Dark Prince cleared his throat. "O-okay? Uh. Um... are you... um. D-done?" 

Morality shook his head, eyelids drooping. This was a different kind of exhaustion he was used to; it didn't come with death. He let out a yawn. It... wouldn't hurt at all if he... just... took a nap for a little while.... 

"Whitey?" The Prince's own arms were pinned against his sides. "Hey, can you... stop? Hello? H-hello? Whitey? Hey! Morality! Hey, hey, okay, whoa! Whoawhoawhoa what're you—" 

Morality's eyes had closed, leaning forward until the Prince had toppled over onto his back, his heart in his throat. 

"Oh! Okay, oh, oh, uh, shit, mmm-hmm, yes, okay, this is fine, uhh... Whitey?" He managed to pull one of his arms out of the light-clad man's embrace and cautiously poked the other's face. Morality kept his eyes closed, barely reacting to the touch. "What the fuck's gotten into you? Hellooooooo? Hey! Get off me, you ass! Get...." He trailed off. Was Morality dead again, or...? 

Morality suddenly lifted his head and opened his mouth again. The Prince yelped, his eyes practically bugging out. After a beat, Morality pressed his cheek into the Prince's chest, making little "nomnomnom" noises before he quieted down again. 

"Nope!" the Prince decided out loud. "Not dead, nope, ha... haha. Ugh. Disgusting little shit. I do one...." He gagged. " _Good_ thing, and you do this. You think this is funny, huh?" He poked the spot in between the twin scythes of hair on Morality's head. "Is this your revenge or something? Well then! Lend me thine ear you little wench! I could have let Dib die, you know! You know that, right?" 

His fists clenched, baring his sharpened teeth. "You wouldn't be all grateful then, now would you? No! You wouldn't! I don't mean to disappoint you, but you should know that I really am not a good person. There! I said it! Art thou happy now, _Prince Morals?_ I am a downright bad person! The worst! But you are being... a piece of shit right now, you know that, right? You... you had the chance to kill me! That's why you picked your sword up, right? You were going to kill me! I know you were!" 

He sighed, resting his head against the floor. "You probably should have. Isn't that how these stories go? I lost yes, but... I was expecting you to. Kill me, I mean. You know that, right? You were supposed to. Why else would you keep returning if you weren't meant to get rid of me? What are you doing, anyway? I thought you would say something by now. You're not... you're not _asleep,_ are you?" 

He slapped his free hand against his forehead. "UGH! You are! Gods be damned! I just poured my fucking heart out to an asshole who couldn't be bothered with staying awake! The NERVE you have, Whitey! Seriously! Ugh! Oh, who am I trying to fool, you were asleep before that, weren't you?" The Prince groaned, letting his arm flop out beside him, grimacing at the light-clad man. "What are you doing to me, Morals? You're making me all emotional and stupid." 

He gave a jaw cracking yawn. "Fuuuuuuuuuck I'm tired." He chuckled. "You must be exhausted too, huh Morals? Yeah. I don't think you'd sleep on someone like me if that wasn't the case." 

It couldn't hurt if he fell asleep too, right? Yeah. He was beaten to shit, cut up and had a light-clad man with his cheek adorably smushed into his chest sleeping on top of him. He really couldn't move... plus it was probably time he had a break. The Prince closed his eyes. Of course it'd be okay if he slept. Zib would be fine on his own. He'd be fine for a little while. 

**_Well, he'd certainly be better off without you._**

His eyes snapped open. "Wha... huh?" He looked at Morality. "What was that?" 

Morality simply buried his face into Prince's chest, incoherently mumbling in his sleep. 

"Hmm. Must be hearing things. Oh well." He closed his eyes again, choosing not to think into it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHAT THE FUCK. WHAT THE FUCK! hey wait - did dp call morality adorable? OOOHHH
> 
> While one would expect DP to try n' fight Morality on ending this crap, I like to think that Dark Prince wouldn't want things to continue if he realizes what he's done. So the mention of "one part wanting to fight" in my opinion is just Zib himself... I mean, that voice is supposed to oppose the other voice in his head, not do whatever this is.
> 
> anyway, the boys gonna be napping for a while.


End file.
